Toledo Mud Hens 8, Indianapolis Indians 0 (box)

The Hens completed a 5-1 series victory with another dominant performance over the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate on Sunday.

Lael Lockhart Jr. got the start and tossed a quick top of the first. Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows then blasted a solo shot to deep right field to open the bottom half of the inning.

Lockhart allowed just a single in the second, and then the offense turned on the jets. Akil Baddoo reached on a swinging bunt to start the inning and lefty Randy Labaut couldn’t find the strike zone, walking Manuel Margot and Gage Workman both to load the bases. Bligh Madris strafed a double the opposite way, and all three speedy baserunners scored. A wild pitch moved Madris to third and Brian Serven lifted a sacrifice fly to right to make it 5-0 Hens.

Lockhart had it on lock from there. The lefty tossed six innings of scoreless ball with just two hits and a walk allowed against five punch outs.

Meadows grounded out in his second at-bat, but in the bottom of the fifth he led off with a walks and moved to third on a Wenceel Pérez single. Meadows scored on a Jace Jung grounder that forced Pérez, but Hao-Yu Lee walked to keep the inning going. Baddoo then drilled a double to left field, scoring Jung for a 7-0 lead.

Lee completed the scoring in the seventh, smashing a leadoff homer at 109.2 mph to left field for his fourth of the year.

The Hens bullpen was untouchable, as Tyler Owens struck out two in a perfect inning in the seventh. Sean Guenther handled the eighth, and Ricky Vanasco closed it out, allowed a walk but striking out three to wrap this one up.

Meadows is eligible to return from the 60-day injured list on Monday, but he was the designated hitter in this one and probably still needs another three or four games with the Hens to get some more at-bats and play center field a few days before he returns to the Tigers.

Meadows: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, HR, BB

Baddoo: 3-4, R, RBI, 2B

Madris: 1-3, R, 3 RBI, 2B, BB

Lockhart (W, 2-3): 6.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: The Hens welcome in the Louisville Bats for six starting Tuesday night at 6:05 p.m. ET.

Hartford Yard Goats 3, Erie SeaWolves 0 (box)

The offense fizzled out in this one as the SeaWolves settled for a five games to one series victory on Sunday.

Carlos Pena got the start, and he was solid. The lefty allowed just one run over five innings of work, but there was no run support coming. Thayron Liranzo and Ben Malgeri each had a double, but those were the only hits for Erie.

Reliever Ryan Boyer allowed single runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

Liranzo: 1-4, 2B, K

Pena (L, 1-3): 5.0 IP, ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Coming Up Next: It was still a fine week for the SeaWolves, and they hold a 30-15 record and are tied with Akron atop their division as they hunt for a third straight Eastern League championship and a fourth straight berth to the finals, this time under Andrew Graham.

Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves head out on the road to tackle the Reading Fightin’ Phils starting on Tuesday morning at 11:00 a.m. ET. Their 30-15 record has them a half game up on Akron in their division as they hunt for a playoff berth and a shot at their third straight Eastern League championship and fourth straight trip to the finals, this time with Andrew Graham at the helm.

West Michigan Whitecaps 5, Great Lakes Loons 2 (box)

The Whitecaps won this series four games to two, and did so in about as dramatic a fashion as is possible in baseball.

Carlos Marcano gave the Whitecaps a solid start in this one. He just didn’t get any run support. The right-hander allowed a run in the fourth inning, but no more in his five innings of work. He struck out three to one walk.

The Whitecaps didn’t have a baserunner until Kevin McGonigle walked in the fourth inning. McGonigle and Peyton Graham walked in the seventh inning and each got into scoring position but were stranded. There were precious few scoring opportunities. Finally in the eighth, Seth Stephenson tied the game with his fourth home run of the season.

West Michigan’s first hit of the night comes from Seth Stephenson in the form of a game-tying home run to open the 8th inning. It’s his 4th homer of the season. @wangler_nathan on the call. pic.twitter.com/GY9NkqxAyq

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 26, 2025

C.J. Weins looked to keep it that way but couldn’t quite manage it. He issued a walk with one out, but bounced back to strike out the next hitter he faced. Unfortunately, he hit the next batter, and then Mike Sirota smoked a double into the right field gap. Max Clark dived, cut it off, fired to McGonigle at second, and the throw home was right on the money to prevent the second run from scoring. Still, the Whitecaps needed a big comeback. As it happened, they had the most epic comeback imaginable in store.

Mike Sirota rips a liner to right center to put Great Lakes up 2-1, but Max Clark dives to stop the ball, and Kevin McGonigle fires home to cut down the runner and keep it a one-run game. pic.twitter.com/0b8dGdINZj

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 26, 2025

Kevin McGonigle led off and he got the pitch he wanted and roasted a line drive the opposite way to the warning track. It bounced over the wall for a ground rule double, and the Loons pitched around Josue Briceño and walked him. That left it up to Peyton Graham, who sliced a hot one-hopper down the first base line. The Loons first baseman did well just to knock it down, but he could not make the play and the bases were loaded.

That left it up to a player who is finally breaking out somewhat after several tough seasons. Izaac Pacheco stepped to the dish and he got a first pitch fastball on the inner edge. Pacheco lifted, he cleaned, and then he separated, nuking a grand slam into orbit beyond the right field wall for a walkoff homer.

McGonigle: 1-2, R, 2B, 2 BB, K

Graham: 1-3, R, BB, SB

Pacheco: 1-4, R, 4 RBI, 2 K

Marcano: 5.0 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: A theme is developing if you hadn’t noticed. The Whitecaps also hold a 30-15 record, and they lead their division by five games. They’ll head out on the road this week to play the Dayton Dragons.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 15, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 12 (box)

The Flying Tigers lost out on a sweep with their loss on Saturday, but they bounced back to win a slugfest on Sunday to take the series five games to one.

Early on, right-hander Zack Lee was cruising. A single and a hit batter were all Fort Myers had to show for themselves through three.

In the bottom of the third, the Flying Tigers broke the game wide open. Woody Hadeen led off with a single, and then Bryce Rainer pulled a rocket into the right field corner. It was briefly mishandled, and Rainer flew around the bases for an inside-the-park homer, his fifth round-tripper of the year. The Flying Tigers were just getting warmed up.

Bryce Rainer rips a ball into the right corner and never stops running. He gets credited with a 2-run, inside-the-park home run. It’s his 5th homer of the year. @ZachSurdenik calls it. pic.twitter.com/X7x38tN84D

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 25, 2025

With one out, Carson Rucker doubled and Garrett Pennington reached on an error. At that point, Stephen Hrustich lifted a towering three-run shot out to left field. 5-0 Lakeland.

Who is Stephen Hrustich? A free agent outfielder the Tigers signed on Saturday out of independent ball. Zack Lee was a signing from independent ball last summer, as was talented outfielder Patrick Lee. The net is getting wider and wider and we love to see it.

Gifted a big lead, Lee stumbled, allowing a run in the fourth and then three in the fifth as the Mussels closed to within a run. That didn’t last long.

In the bottom of the fifth, Pennington walked with one out and then Hrustich reached on an error. A grounder from Samuel Gil forced Hrustich as second, but Sergio Tapia followed with a three-run shot to left, his first homer for Lakeland this spring.

Now an 8-4 ballgame, the Flying Tigers kept pouring it on. David Smith was hit by a pitch after the homer. He then sought vengeance, stealing second and taking third on a passed ball. Hadeen singled him in and then rode home on a Rainer double to center field. Jackson Strong lined a double to right to plate Rainer, and it was 11-4.

Thomas Bruss allowed a solo shot in the sixth for an 11-5 ballgame, but the Flying Tigers came right back for three more in the bottom half of the sixth. A parade of walks and a hit batter caused those runs, and it was 14-5 Lakeland when the smoke cleared.

Moises Rodriguez and then Ronny Chalas combined for a pretty disastrous top of the eighth in which they allowed five runs, and Rodriguez appeared to suffer an injury.

Rainer singled in Tapia in the bottom of the eighth, while Chalas gave up two in the top of the ninth but held on.

Bryce Rainer shoots a single to left to plate Lakeland’s 15th run of the game. He’s 3-for-5 today with a HR, a double, and 4 RBIs. pic.twitter.com/YVQ8LthaVq

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 25, 2025

Rainer: 3-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR, BB, 2 K

Hrustich: 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR, BB, K

Tapia: 1-3, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR, 2 BB, K

Zack Lee (W, 2-2): 4 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, K

Coming Up Next: The 26-18 Flying Tigers hold a 2.5 game lead in their division over Clearwater and Dunedin. They’d like a return trip to the championship as well. They’ll take on Tampa in a three-game home series before heading to Bradenton for three starting on Friday.